42 Addisonia 



Rothschild. The plant here figured has been in the collections of 

 the New York Botanical Garden since 1907, forming part of the 

 large collection of orchids presented at that time by Mr. Oakes Ames. 

 For many years the genus Cypripedium was made to include a 

 number of diverse groups, differing markedly in structure and in 

 geographic distribution. At the present day, however, these 

 groups are recognized by botanists as of generic value. The genus 

 Cypripedium, as now understood, includes about thirty species, 

 inhabiting the north temperate zone; about a dozen of these are 

 found in North America. The greater part of the species of green- 

 house culture, formerly considered as belonging to Cypripedium, 

 now belong to Paphiopedilnm or Phragmipedhwi; the former con- 

 tains fifty species or more from the tropical regions of Asia, extending 

 from the Indian peninsula and the Himalayan mountains to southern 

 China, and in the Malay Archipelago from Sumatra and the Philip- 

 pine Islands to New Guinea; the latter includes about a dozen 

 species from tropical America, exclusive of the West Indies. Selen- 

 ipedium, the remaining genus of this relationship, has but three 

 species, exceedingly rare in cultivation, inhabiting the region from 

 Panama to northern Brazil. 



George V. Nash. 



Explanation of Plate. Fig. 1. — Flowering stem. Fig. 2. — Leaves. Fig. 

 3. — Column, front view. Fig. 4. — Column, side view, showing staminodium 

 arising from its base. Fig. 5. — Staminodium, upper part, seen from above. 



